Thiruvallur district in dengue fear, minister reviews situation

In the wake of the death of four children in Tiruvallur district, several villages bordering Andhra Pradesh are in the grip of dengue fear.

Mohan, 9, and his brother S Mohan Kumar, 6, belonging to a family of labourers, had been admitted to the Institute of Child Health with fever last week. Both of them died on Saturday. While Mohan Kumar died of multi-organ failure caused by a viral or water-borne infection, serological tests on his brother confirmed a disease that officials dread at this time of the year – dengue.

Inspecting the affected areas, Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar confirmed that D. Mohan, 6, had died of dengue. Kuberan, another six-year-old undergoing treatment at the Government District Headquarters Hospital, had also been tested positive, he said.

Overnight, the two villages were bustling with activity, with officials going door-to-door asking people to avoid storing water for long. Officials have carried out fogging operations and held medical camps over the last two days

Accompanied by Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan and District Collector E. Sundaravalli, the Minister inspected two Dalit colonies in Kaverirajapuram, near Tirutani, on Sunday.

Vijaya Baskar recently informed the State Assembly that the spread of dengue fever was completely under control in the State because of effective preventive measures taken by the government. He also urged the DMK members not to create fear psychosis among the people by reeling out false information.